Solis, Hilda ( born Oct. October 20, 1957 , Los Angeles, Calif.California, U.S.American politician who served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2001–09) before becoming secretary of the Department of Labor (2009– 2009–13) in the administration of Pres. Barack Obama.

Solis grew up in Los Angeles county, and she graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a B.A. in political science in 1979. She got her first political experience in the administration of Pres. Jimmy Carter, working in the Office of Hispanic Affairs and the Office of Management and Budget, before returning to school to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1981. In 1985 she won a seat on the Rio Hondo Community College board of trustees, a role she retained until 1992, when she was elected to a two-year term in the California State Assembly.

Solis made history in 1994, when she became the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the California Senate. While there, she established herself as a vocal proponent of workers’ rights, and she led a successful effort to raise the state’s minimum wage. In 2000 Solis became the first woman to win the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award, for her work on environmental issues in minority communities. Later that year she defeated the incumbent Democratic U.S. representative in a hotly contested primary race. Her victory owed much to the support she received from women’s organizations and labour unions, and those groups contributed to her landslide win in that fall’s general elections. Her congressional record reflected a commitment to preserving the rights of women, workers, and minorities, and she was a strong supporter of “green collar” jobs. Nominated by Obama to head the Department of Labor, Solis was confirmed by the Senate in February 2009, and she held the post until January 2013.